Had you heard of umami a month ago? Me either. But since Kikoman started their discover umami campaign, I have seen it everywhere. They had to make umami dishes in a Top Chef quickfire and they had to make a whole umami meal on The Next Iron Chef. You get my point right? Umami is suddenly being talked about everywhere.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71O1CPEWNVY]
A month ago I didn’t even know it existed! But now that I do it’s pretty obvious to me that Umami and Millennials have a lot in common.
1. They are both a little hard to define- What exactly is umami? Is it savory, meaty, brothy, tasty? It’s one of basic tastes, but the definition isn’t as clear-cut as our other tastes, like salty and sweet. Similarly, Millennials are a lot more difficult to define than previous generations. Do we love technology, do we use social networks, do we care about the environment? There are obviously no clearcut answers to these questions, because Millennials are so much more diverse than previous generations.
2. They both have people in a love/hate relationship- Most people either love or hate Millennials. Either you get the benefits they bring to your workplace, or you think they are a pain in the butt. Umami rich foods have a ton of glutamate in them, which similarly people either love or hate. Roquefort cheese, fish sauce and shiitake mushrooms are all foods characterized as umami rich. It’s difficult to know why, but you either like these foods or you don’t.
3. They both get overshadowed by hype- When I first saw the discover umami commercials I thought they were a load of crap. Umami seemed like just a bunch of hype to me. But then I did some research and found that umami isn’t just an advertising campaign. And I think the same thing happens with Millennials. Often times our negative qualities get overhyped and it is hard to see the reality behind our behaviors. But do a little research, and it’s easy to see all of the great characteristics of Millennials.
So it’s not exactly an equal comparison, but I think Millennials and Umami have a lot in common. Do you think so too?
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